


friend, foe or stranger

by iamtheview



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Ghouls, Kaneki Ken as Sasaki Haise, Kaneki Ken is the One-Eyed King, On the Run
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-04-06 20:36:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19070209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamtheview/pseuds/iamtheview
Summary: Haise Sasaki wasn’t an uptight type of man. He was the type of person who would greet everyone with a smile or a laugh and would go out of his own way to be friendly. His Quinx squad loved him, whether adoringly (Saiko) or begrudgingly (Urie).Haise Sasaki was also gone. He’d vanished a month ago in the middle of the night with barely any warning. All they’d found the next day was an open window and a letter, explaining that he remembered everything and couldn’t stay. The letter had been signed by Ken Kaneki.***Basically, Sasaki regains his memories and disappears which leads to the Quinx squad going on the run from the CCG who try to exterminate them. They get attacked by a ghoul and are saved by a strange ghoul with white hair and an eyepatch mask.





	1. Chapter 1

Haise Sasaki wasn’t an uptight type of man. He was the type of person who would greet everyone with a smile or a laugh and would go out of his own way to be friendly. His Quinx squad loved him, whether adoringly (Saiko) or begrudgingly (Urie).

 

Haise Sasaki was also gone. He’d vanished a month ago in the middle of the night with barely any warning. All they’d found the next day was an open window and a letter, explaining that he remembered everything and couldn’t stay. The letter had been signed by Ken Kaneki. 

 

They’d reacted to it in different ways. Urie just resigned himself to his training, working too hard and not talking enough. He was betrayed, upset, relieved and terrified. He’d always known this would happen but it still hurt. How could it not? He’d respected the man as his superior, trained under him, fought to be better than him but had always admired him and now he was gone, abandoned them in favor of a life he’d fought against and forgotten. It was true, the lack of a talented, dangerous superior would make it far easier for him to climb the ranks and prove himself but what if this was the final straw? Fine, Sasaki hadn’t technically been a quinx, but he’d been the basis for the operation. What if him going rogue triggered the end of the quinx program?

 

Saiko had gone into an extreme emotional crash. She would leave her room even less, never smiled and always had a grim distraught expression. She’d been the closest to Sasaki, seeing him as a mother figure and he’d always been there for her, always supported her. She’d thought he actually cared, he was the parent figure she could rely on when she’d never had reliable parents before. He was the rock she clung to in a sea of emotions and now he’d crumbled away, leaving her stranded and drowning. She was upset but also so angry. He hadn’t even said goodbye.

 

Tooru and Akira had reacted in similar ways: pure determination and rage. It was like he’d given up. Given up on his life, on them. On himself, like he was just weak and it burned a hole of determination into them. Determination to yell at him and scream that he should have been stronger, should have fought harder, should have done more. He had failed them and that was unforgivable.

 

Needless to say, Sasaki’s disappearance had hit them all hard but they’d be damned if it meant they were going to give up their work and stop, be complacent, give up. He gave them the motivation to carry on, to prove to him they he couldn’t break them.

 

Unfortunately for them, no one else at the CCG had shared their determination to succeed despite this. They saw it as proof ghouls were dangerous and not to be trusted which obviously could only end well.

***

“Urie”

 

Urie swatted sleepily at the voice beside his ear. It was 3am. Why was someone hissing in his ear?

 

“Urie, get up. You’re in danger,”

 

He was awake now. He sat up in his bed and stared into Akira’s face, which had over his own while he was asleep. That sounded creepy.

 

“Danger?”

 

“I’ve woken the others too, they’re all packing but there’s been an order: the quinx squad are dangerous and unpredictable,” Akira said. “They’ve given the order to execute you and the squad will be here in three hours,”

 

“Shit,”

 

“Yeah, pack your shit because we’re leaving,” Akira said.

 

Luckily, Urie was used to getting ready in a moment’s notice, in the pitch black (don’t ask) and within half an hour, he, Tooru, Saiko and Akira were standing by the front door in their civilian clothing, carrying backpacks of all their essentials. 

 

“Let’s go,”

 

They talked as they walked, in hushed serious voices. Where were they going to go, what were they going to do? It was obvious enough that the CCG would freeze their bank accounts as soon as they found them and follow up on all their known friends and family, so where to stay and how to stay were difficult topics. AT the moment, the most sensible plan was to hitchhike to the train station, get out of Tokyo and to a completely new part of the country to start a brand new life. It wasn’t appealing or likely to succeed but it was the only option they had at this point.

 

“What if we-” Saiko started but she was cut off by a waling siren that could only be a CCG vehicle.

 

“Shit!” Akira yelled and yanked Urie unceremoniously into an alley at the side of the street, despite him being perfectly capable of jumping in said alley himself.

 

Urie bristled. Yesterday he’d been well on his way to becoming a senior Investigator and now he was crouched behind a bin, hiding from the very people he’d worked hard all his life to become.

 

The car crawled by, lights from flashlights sweeping through the alley, forcing him to duck even further behind the bin which was obviously exactly what he wanted.  
It seemed like an eternity before the car finally went out of range and Urie could finally stand up, step away and inhale. He turned towards Akira and held in a yell.  
She was kneeling on the floor, murder in her eyes, a hand over her mouth and both her hands restrained by a bikaku kagune. A ghoul stood behind her, grinning unstably through his mask. It was a strange thing to think at that particular time but as Urie’s kagune appeared, he thought how much the ghoul’s mask looked like a raccoon, even if it obviously hadn’t been a deliberate choice.

 

“I was just minding my own business,” he (the ghoul, not Urie) leered “when suddenly, I smelt human meat,”

 

Akira grunted and tried to pull away.

 

“You lot, you smell funny, I can’t tell what you are. Like humans that have just had a very very intense time with a ghoul,” he laughed to himself. “But she is definitely human and… I could eat,”

 

The ghoul opened his mouth wide to take a bite, Saiki screamed, Tooru and Urie jumped forwards to defend Akira but before they could do anything, the ghoul’s eyes widened, he let out a gurgling choking noise and his head rolled off his shoulders onto the floor. The rest of his body collapsed weakly down as well and Akira pulled herself free. She was covered in blood.

 

Akira stood up and faced the direction that the fatal blow had come from. Another ghoul was standing there, with white hair and a strange mask with an eyepatch and a bared teeth. 

 

“This isn’t quite how I expected my evening to go,” said the ghoul.

 

Saiko’s breath hitched but Urie pointed his kagune at the strange figure.

 

“Who the hell are you?” he demanded.

 

“I think you know already,”

 

The ghoul reached up to undo his mask and as it fell away, Urie inhaled sharply. 

 

Sasaki.


	2. Chapter 2

“Sasaki!” Urie yelled.

His heart raced and he could feel his blood beginning to boil. How dare he show his face in front of them again, after what had happened. He was meant to be their mentor, the person they could trust and now because of him, they were here on the run from the CCG being attacked by random ghouls.

“Shut up Urie,” Haise hissed, looking around them. “It’s not safe here,”

“Nowhere is safe!” Tooru protested. “Because of you!”

“Sorry,” Haise said.

Urie felt himself getting angry again. Sorry? That was all he could offer?? No explanation or remorse, just a quick simple ‘sorry’. 

Haise looked around at their glares and sighed.

“Why did I get myself into this mess,” he muttered to himself.

“Follow me,” he said out loud.

“Why should we follow you?” Akira demanded. “You went rouge, we have no way of trusting you,”

Haise laughed darkly. “It’s up to you; either me or the CCG”

He reached up and reattached his mask before turning around and leaping up out of the alley. Urie growled in frustration and turned to his team.

“We have to go with him. Saiko, take Akira with you; we’ll have to use kagunes to keep up,”

“I can handle myself,” Akira said coldly, pulling out her quinque.

The end of the weapon flew up and buried itself in the roof where Sasaki had disappeared. With a flick of her wrist, Akira was hoisted up after it.

“Keep up!” she yelled.

Haise was waiting for them on the roof. His mask covered his mouth but Urie knew there would be a smug grin under there; he knew they were helpless without him. 

“Let’s just fucking go already,” Urie growled once they were all up there.

Haise led them through a path of alleys and roofs. They met a few ghouls along the way, but they all backed down once they saw Haise.

It was beginning to give Urie a bad feeling: who had Haise been before he’d lost his memory. Could it be possible that this was a trap? They had no reason to believe that he still cared about them at all.

“Keep your guard up,” he hissed to his team. They all nodded grimly.

The area they were crossing started to look slightly familiar. It was all very different, from the ghoul’s pathways and area but Urie knew enough to realize they were heading back towards the CCG headquarters.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he hissed, grabbing Haise’s arm. “This is CCG territory!”

Haise’s one eye stared at him impassively.

“The last place they’ll think to look is right next to their own door,” he replied, pulling his arm out of Urie’s grip and moving on.

The hairs on the back of Urie’s neck stood up and he shivered. His instincts screamed at him and he spun around just in time to see a ghoul with a half-face mask swing a sword kagune at him. He instinctively raised his own and blocked the strike but, being slightly unprepared, the impact jarred his shoulder and he winced.

The other Quinxes immediately sprung into action, striking at the ghoul but he’d vanished again. Urie spun around and saw him standing next to Haise.

“My dear Kaneki, who are these delightful strays you’ve picked up?” the ghoul hummed, leaning on Haise’s shoulder.

“I thought I told you to fuck off,” Haise replied dryly.

“Nonsense, mon cherie, how could I when you’ve found these delightful little stragglers for me?”

The ghoul grinned and stepped towards Urie. He pulled off his mask and stuck his hand out, like an aristocrat would. Urie tensed when he recognized him.

“Tsukiyama Shuu,” he said. “It is a pleasure to meet you,”

Urie didn’t take his hand.

It had been the raid of the Tsukiyama mansion when his friend, Ginshi, had been killed, but they still hadn’t been able to capture the heir, Shuu. Over two hundred officers were murdered during the raid.

“Oh Kaneki dear, it looks like they don’t like me!” Tsukiyama laughed. 

“What do you expect?!” Akira yelled. “You’re the reason so many were killed during the raid!”

Realization dawned on Tsukiyama’s face and he stepped back, eyes turning back and red.

“Kaneki darling, did you bring me CCG dogs?” he hissed.

Urie heard the tell-tale sound of Tooru’s knife being drawn.

Haise stared impassively at Tsukiyama.

“I didn’t bring them to you, they’re not CCG dogs anymore and you can go fuck off,” he said

Tsukiyama made a small noise and stalked away; Urie watched him as he vanished into the shadows. Then, he turned back to Haise.

“How much further?” he demanded

Haise pulled off his mask, smirked and knocked on a door hidden in the shadow of an alley.

“We’re here,” he said

“Who is it?” called a woman’s voice from behind the door.

“Kaneki,” Haise replied. “I brought friends,”

The door swung open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Tsukiyama, he's so crazy  
> While writing this, I spent so long trying to figure out what the plural for roof was: roofs or rooves and in the end, I just decided not to use it.

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 1 of my first ever story so obviously it's going to be shit.  
> If you've read this far, why


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